Addison’s eyes moved to my lower back and then came back to mine.
Betrayal. Jealousy. Anger.
No words were needed, and no words could be said as Addison turned on her heel and fled.
As I stood in the silence of my classroom with Helene’s arms around me, all I could think about was how to comfort her enough to release me from her emotional burden—so I could go and add to my own.
How fucked up was that?
I raced down the empty hall and stopped at the end of the lockers, pressing my back against the cool metal. I took several breaths and closed my eyes.
One, two, three. One, two three.
I didn’t want to think about what I’d seen when I walked into the classroom. Her with him—the rightness of that moment.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew that she was who he was supposed to be with, not me. But it didn’t matter. I couldn’t let her have him; I needed him. He stopped the chaos.
I pulled my fingers through the long strands of my hair and tightened them as I listened to the watch at my wrist keeping time of my torment.
Tick, tick, tock.
“Addison?”
My eyes snapped open at the deep voice calling out my name.
No! No, I couldn’t let him see me like this.
I was strong, confident. I was—
“Addison?”
Found.
Grayson stopped in front of me. His face was troubled, and his eyes held something new, something I hadn’t seen before—pity.
What exactly had they been discussing in there?
“It’s not what you think.”
“Move,” I demanded, feeling the need for distance.
Grayson put his hands on his hips as one of his eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
“Move out of my way.”
Instead of stepping aside, he remained unmoving, his body large and impenetrable. I may as well have been trying to get past a brick wall. “I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to.”
At that moment, any anxiety I’d been feeling left and in its place was anger. He’d been talking to her about me. “Oh, I know exactly who I’m talking to. Do you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Pushing off the locker, I walked forward until my shirt brushed his. He should have moved away but he didn’t.
“Who do you see in front of you right now? Your student or the person you were inside of yesterday?”
He swallowed before he answered, and I was mesmerized by the way his throat moved. I wanted to reach out to him.
“I see both,” he admitted. “You’re all I see.”
I silently fumed as I concentrated on the mouth that, despite my anger, I wanted on mine.
“But now you see something else. What did she tell you?” I asked.
He looked caught off-guard. “What?”
“She said something to you. You’re looking at me like they all do.”
“And how is that?”
“Like you feel sorry for me,” I spat out. “I want you to fuck me. Not pity me.”
With no warning at all, Grayson seized my shoulders and firmly directed me back against the lockers. He crowded in with no regard to our surroundings as he promised in a voice that sounded distinctly like a threat.
“That’s all you want, is it? A quick fuck? You could have gotten that from Brandon. But you want more from me, just like I want more from you.”
His mouth was close, so close that if I leaned in…
“Don’t.”
“No?” I whispered as his breath floated over my lips.
“No. Not here.”
“I need you,” I admitted breathlessly. “I ache for you.”
Grayson moved away so fast it was as if he’d been electrocuted. “After school,” he promised.
“Yes?”
“Follow me…my truck.”
His eyes left a scorching trail down my body as he backed away, and I checked my watch to see how much longer I had to wait. I wasn’t surprised at all that the second hand was silently making its way around to twelve.
Once again, he’d silenced the madness.
Three thirty and the final bell for the day rang. I grabbed my bag and followed the last student out the door, turning the lights off as I exited.
I locked up and made my way out to the parking lot, knowing that what I was about to do was wrong. I had also known it yesterday, but as I made my way to my truck, I spotted Addison leaning back against her car, and I couldn’t find it in me to care.
She was laughing at something Brandon must have said. Her head was tipped back, the sun shone on her face, and the smile on her lips made me want to punch him for putting it there.
Nice. Now I was jealous of a fucking teenager.
As I stepped onto the road, Brandon saw me and waved.
“See you tomorrow, Mr. McKendrick.”
I returned the gesture and shoved my other hand in my pocket.
“Yes, you will,” I replied as my eyes met Addison’s, and I couldn’t help but add, “Make sure you do your homework tonight. Only a few days left, and I want that report on my desk Friday.”
“I know, I know. The Boleyn chick.”
“That’d be her.”
Brandon grabbed his bag, which was resting by Addison on the hood of her car, and kissed her cheek. My teeth clenched as I unlocked my door and climbed inside.
I started the truck and looked out my windshield to see Brandon driving away. That’s when I let my eyes find Addison’s.
She was sitting in her car and when I pulled out of my spot, I heard her car turn over.
Yes, I thought as I drove out on to the street.
This time you follow me.
I made sure to let several other cars leave ahead of me before I turned and followed.
After navigating the streets and weaving through traffic, he entered the highway. I was curious where he was taking us. I knew it had to be somewhere private since there was no way we could be out in public. He exited the off ramp and I followed closer now that we were away from the school.
Around fifteen minutes later, we turned down a dirt road and drove in a mile or so before he stopped at an old gate. Opening the truck door, he jumped down and came for me. Running a hand through his hair, he began striding my way as the wind caught his shirt, molding it to all of his muscles.
The man was hotter than hell, and nowhere in sight was my history teacher.
This was all Grayson.
His eyes stayed on me as he braced a hand on the roof of my car and indicated I should wind my window down. Once it was lowered, he rested his forearms on the door so our faces were only inches apart.
“Park the car, Addison.”
“Park it?”
“Yes,” he replied, his voice velvety and commanding. “Do you remember what I found you doing the first time you parked in front of my house?”
He was driving me crazy, and he knew it.
“Yes.”
“I want you do that again, here. Just for me.”
It shouldn’t have been any different than the time I’d done this in front of him in the classroom, but as he leaned in the window and his tongue tasted my bottom lip, I suddenly felt nervous.
This was different.